Currently reading: Colibri one-seater receives 700 pre-orders
New city car to enter production in 2015

Over 700 pre-orders have been received for the Innovative Colibri city car.

The Colibri's maker, German manufacturer Innovative Mobility, says that around half of the pre-orders are from private motorists, with the other half coming from business and fleet customers.

The car was first seen at the Geneva motor show earlier this year, and has been designed to appeal to inner-city commuters and businesses. The Colibri has one seat and comes with a 180-litre boot. Its 24kW electric motor has a range of 68 miles, and can power the 440kg Colibri to 62mph in just under ten seconds, and has a claimed top speed of 75mph.

As with other electic vehicles, the Colibri can be charged from a conventional socket, with the battery reaching 80 per cent charge in 20 minutes.

The car is scheduled to reach series production in late 2015, and will cost €8900 with a €55 monthly battery lease. The company has previously said it plans to produce around 17,000 models per year.

Innovative Mobility says it is looking for further investors to help fund the project. Company boss Thomas delos Santos said: "Financing a vehicle project is like playing in the Champions League: even if you have a highly motivated team, it requires you to fight it out to reach the finals."

When it goes on sale, the Colibri will offer competition to the likes of the Smart Fortwo.

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k12479 3 December 2013

Funny how the Yamaha/Murray

Funny how the Yamaha/Murray thing gets so much fawning and coverage despite not even being scheduled for production so far, yet this vehicle has 700 orders and production is scheduled yet is mostly ignored. I guess the only thing left now is for Autocar to review it and conclude that while it's pretty good, the Jaguar XJ just edges it.
Turismo 2 December 2013

Been waiting for many years

Been waiting for many years for a car like this. Now one is being made. Just need a sports version now with high performance. Negative is that battery cost is too expensive considering it must be really tiny compared to the Zoe battery. £30month would be ok. Best still would be a 650cc turbo petrol.
topsecret456987 2 December 2013

The modern motor cars has

The modern motor cars has nothing to do with providing a Mobility Service. People do not want a car to provide such a mundane thing as getting from A to B and back again. Cars have to offer an image and make a statement about their personality. Cars have to flashy, fast and big. For this reason I fear that this vehicle will fail to succeed as it deserves.
Sporky McGuffin 3 December 2013

topsecret456987 wrote: People

topsecret456987 wrote:
People do not want a car to provide such a mundane thing as getting from A to B and back again. Cars have to offer an image and make a statement about their personality. Cars have to flashy, fast and big.
That's patently not true - look at the relative sales of superminis vs big premium saloons. For an awful lot of people (I'm tempted to suggest the vast majority thereof), a car is a useful tool that gets them to places they want to be.